Moving In
by FoolsRushIn
Summary: Barney and Robin are finally moving in together and Barney has some strong ideas about where they should live. Barney/Robin oneshot, set sometime in the future


_So, I'm not really sure where this came from. This idea came to me around 12:30 AM and I knew I had to get it written before I went to sleep, which is why it's almost 3 in the morning. It was supposed to be less than 1,000 words and somehow ballooned to almost 2,500, I don't know how. I tried to catch every error I could. Hopefully there aren't any too obvious ones. I really wanted to write something cute and fluffy for Barney and Robin, thus this was written. Anyway, I'll get back to writing my other story now that this is done. Hope you like it! Let me know what you thought! _

* * *

They were moving in together. She, Robin Scherbatsky, was moving in with Barney Stinson. The two people who claimed to be the most opposed to commitment were going to live together. Not only were they going to live together, but they were engaged. How they got to this point is an almost never-ending story with a lot of heartbreaks, on both sides, and a lot of confusion. But to make a long story short, it started when Barney closed the door on them completely, which in turn made Robin spiral and need one final night with him. But before she had a chance to properly seduce him, Barney started dating Patrice, which was all a play for the playbook. A very long, complicated play that took him weeks to plan and execute in order to finally get Robin to admit she was in love with him. It worked, he proposed on a rooftop, and now here they were, moving in together.

She'd be lying if she didn't admit that this totally scared the shit out of her. Of course it did, she was Robin Scherbatsky. But this time instead of running away, she wanted to push through because she wanted Barney and that's what she'd get at the end of this: Barney for the rest of her life. Alright, it sounded a little scarier when phrased that way, but it'd be okay. The only problem was there was one last decision to be made that neither of them were talking abou: where they were going to live. It was way past time they broached the topic and she needed to say something. Now was as perfect a moment as any. They were curled up on her couch half-watching whatever was on television.

"Where are we going to live?" Robin asked with no lead-in rearranging herself on the couch in order to face Barney.

"Huh?" He questioned turning toward her, eyebrows drawn up in confusion.

"We keep talking about moving together, but neither of us has mentioned where." She explained, her eyes flicking to her engagement ring sparkling in the light of her apartment.

"The Fortress of Barnitude, obviously. What other place could handle this amount of awesome cohabitating?" Barney said clearly not actually wanting an answer and Robin sighed. It's not that she didn't like Barney's place. She just didn't picture herself living there. It was perfect for bachelor Barney, but she wasn't sure it was perfect for Barney and Robin as a couple. Not to mention that's where he lived with Quinn and she really did not want to think about that. Ever.

"Really?" She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice, she really did, but Barney knew her too well.

"What's wrong with the Fortress of Barnitude?"

"Nothing," she assured him. "Really, there's nothing wrong with your apartment." He frowned at her, she figured for not using its proper name, but she ignored him and continued. "It doesn't really strike me as the place a couple lives, though."

"What are you talking about? Quinn and I lived there and it was fine." She bit down on her bottom lip when Quinn was mentioned and Barney's face lit up. "Are you jealous?" When she didn't answer, he laughed. "You are! You don't want to live there because Quinn did." Robin rolled her eyes slightly.

"That's not entirely it. I don't know. Your place is all white and tile and cold," she finally said for lack of a better word.

"Robin, where else am I going to find a place that suits not only my stormtrooper," she resisted the urge to say stormpooper, because they were both more mature than that now, "and my 300 inch television?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know." She sighed. If it was what Barney really wanted she could move in there. She practically lived there during their past relationship, she didn't know why it was bothering her so much now. Well that's not entirely true, she had a pretty good idea why it was bothering her. Because this is permanent she reminded herself. The last time, even if neither of them said it, they had known their relationship was a temporary thing.

"I'm sure you'll get used to the apartment after a couple weeks. I'll even let you add a few girly touches." He winked and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not girly." She mumbled sulking. She couldn't believe Barney was blowing her off about this. This was a really big deal. They were moving in together. What right did he have to decide for both of them where they were living?

"Fine, I'll let you hang a hockey jersey on the wall." He conceded.

"Whatever," she grumbled.

"Aw, don't be mad. We can make the place our own." He smiled. "I'll let you redecorate the bedroom however you want." She didn't say anything to him just leaned back into the couch, her arms crossed. Barney kissed her on the top of the head wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Maybe they could talk about this again later.

* * *

Barney had a plan and he hoped Robin didn't foil it some way. He was acting quickly because Robin was smart and he couldn't let her figure out what he was doing. And she would discover the clues if he didn't act fast enough. He just hoped she actually liked it because if she didn't…well, that would really suck. He had worked really hard on it. He hadn't even been doing any of his actual job while he was at work the past week because he was so busy working on this. He had been hoping she wouldn't broach the subject of where they were living, that way it wouldn't even be on her mind; of course that hadn't worked and he had to piss her off so he could surprise her. Hopefully, it would all work out. And hopefully Robin wouldn't leave him before that because right now he was fairly certain she thought he was a complete asshole. His phone rang in his pocket and he knew who it was and that he should answer it, but he let it go to voicemail. He wanted to enjoy this moment with Robin, even if she was mad at him. Plus, it'd be hard to have this conversation here without Robin getting suspicious. Only three more days and then she would know.

* * *

Robin was moving her stuff into Barney's apartment tonight. She shook her head gathering her belongings at work and walking out to hail a cab. It wasn't that she was unhappy about moving in with Barney, she was unhappy about moving into Barney's apartment. She wanted a new place that they could fill with new memories, not a place that was already filled with a lot of bad ones for both of them. But at least she was finally going to be with Barney. That was something, right? She was getting what she wanted after all these months. Even if it wasn't exactly right, it would be okay.

She groaned when the cab pulled up to her building and neither Barney nor the movers were anywhere in sight. They were supposed to be working on this stuff already. She quickly checked her phone for any messages she might have missed but there were none. Where the hell was Barney? Maybe he was inside her apartment? Well, there was only one way to find out. She quickly paid the cab driver and made her way inside.

She gasped loudly when entering her apartment. It was completely empty. There was no furniture anywhere. She checked each room individually only to find it just as empty as the last. She was about to call Barney when she noticed a note on the counter. Had they moved all her stuff out already? That didn't even make sense though, because Barney would have called her. She picked up the piece of paper noticing that all that was printed on it was an address. She turned it over and the back of the paper was blank. Before her brain could process anything else, she caught a glimpse of something shiny, also sitting on the counter. It was a key. A key for what?

What the hell was Barney up to?

She pulled out her phone again about to call him when her phone beeped with a text message.

_Go to the address. _

That was it? She didn't get any information. She came home to a completely empty apartment with the exception of this piece of paper and a key and all she got were those instructions? Barney better have planned something good because this was ridiculous. He knew she hated surprises. She rubbed a hand over her face and grabbed the piece of paper and the key. The cab ride was quick, probably because she was preoccupied the entire time trying to figure out what was going to greet her. Last time Barney had given her an address and a key, it had been the road to all of their memories. So what could it possibly be this time?

The cab eventually pulled up in front of a large brownstone and Robin vaguely recognized it, but wasn't sure why. She got out of the cab in a rush, shoving the key into the door and pushing the door open. Her eyes widened when she took in her surroundings. The house was full of her and Barney's stuff. Her couch was sitting in the living room next to one of his armchairs, the 300-inch television proudly displayed on the large wall.

"W-w-w-what is this?" She managed to stutter out when Barney came into view. He smiled slightly shrugging his shoulders.

"I thought it might be nice if we could start fresh. New place, new us. I didn't want any of the memories associated with either of our apartments. And…" He trailed off walking toward her. "I was going to take you to look at places the other weekend, but then I remembered the night we drove by these," he said gesturing around the house. "And you said something about always wanting to live in one. So that got me thinking. I called a realtor, one of these was actually on the market and I got it. I almost told you the other night, but I wanted to surprise you." He shrugged guiltily. She smiled at him and gave him a soft kiss. "Do you like it?" He asked quietly.

"Barney, I love it!" She exclaimed looking around excitedly. "I can't believe you did all this." He waved a hand nonchalantly.

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing." Robin corrected with a sharp glare.

"Okay, you're right. But it was totally worth it." She smiled at him. "Do you want the grand tour, madame?" He asked with a bow. She rolled her eyes at him, but placed her hand in his as he pulled her from room to room. She marveled at how he had done this and how perfectly their lives fit together. She could pick out aspects from both their apartments in each room and they complemented each other perfectly.

"How did you do this?" She asked in amazement, her eyes still lingering on the dining room.

"Well, I moved my stuff in yesterday and I took some pictures of your apartment to figure out where everything would fit. There are still a lot of boxes in the attic. But as soon as you left for work, the movers came in and brought everything over here. I got Ted to help me decorate and set everything up. He's practically a woman, so that worked out really well. I finally finished everything about a half hour before you got here." He explained. "If there's anything you don't like-" She cut him off with a kiss.

"You're amazing." She said quietly.

"I know." Barney smirked proudly linking his arms behind her back. She laughed and grabbed his arm pulling him up the steps.

"So, what do we have up here?"

"Another bathroom, guest bedroom, my suit room, I had to have one, and the grand finale, the bedroom." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she grinned. Oh, he was getting lucky tonight. _Very lucky._ They quickly made their way through each room, she knew Barney was anxious to get to the bedroom and honestly she was too. She could explore everything else later. They were right on track, heading toward the bedroom, but Robin stopped him taking a step into the suit room. "We don't have to look at this." He murmured kissing her neck and she gently pushed him away.

"Why is your stormtrooper in here?" She asked noticing it place in the corner of the room making it the first thing a person sees when entering the room. He shrugged glancing back at it.

"You hate it, so I figured I'd put it in here. It's not a big deal." She smiled up at him. This was going to sound cheesy, but she got really lucky when she found Barney.

"Put it in the living room." She instructed.

"Uh, what?"

"Put it in the living room."

"But you hate it." He repeated his previous statement.

"This is your house too." She said softly running her fingers over the lapels of his suit. "Besides I don't hate it."

"You sure about this?"

"Positive," she confirmed with a head nod. "It'll add some ambiance to the room." She shrugged looking back at it again and Barney laughed.

"Okay, I'll move it down there later. Right now, bedroom." He grabbed her hand pulling her into said room. "So, good surprise?" He questioned before pulling her into a kiss.

"Perfect surprise," she reaffirmed in between kisses. They were moving in together and suddenly it was a lot less scary.


End file.
